The Curse
by Voidmagic
Summary: "It was because of my power that the Queen was accused of allowing me to be carried off, and it is because of my wishes that the cook was able to wrong so many. Such power as mine should not exist among humans." - The Prince. Be careful what you wish for.


**This is my rewritten rewrite for a school assignment, not that that means anything. It's just how it came to be. It's for "The Pink" by the Brothers Grimm. I'm not sure how many have read it, but if you haven't that's fine. The only thing you'd get for reading it beforehand is knowing how much of this is canon. Anyway, have fun. Review. If you're going to flame get me marshmallows or something. I just like watching them burn. You can eat them.**

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Once, very long ago, there was a Queen who had not been blessed with children. Every morning, she prayed in her garden that she might be given a son or daughter. It was on a crisp, autumn day, just as the sun had begun to rise above the horizon, that an angel appeared before her and said, "Be content. You shall have a son, and he shall be endowed with the power of wishing, so that whatsoever he wishes for shall be granted to him. Be warned, however, that if the child dies, or loses his power, nothing he will have wished for will keep any power it would not have had naturally." The Queen hurried to the King and told him the joyful news, and though he doubted, his fears were replaced by delight when the queen gave birth.

The Queen's morning walks were then accompanied by her little son, whom she would bathe in a clear sparkling fountain in the gardens where the wild animals were kept. One day, when the child was a little older, she set him on her lap and fell asleep, having not been able to rest the night before due to a terrible, yet unexplainable, foreboding.

The old cook, who had heard rumors of the child's power, came by with a dead chicken and dropped some of its blood on her garments. Then he stole the child away to a secret place, where he placed him out to be nursed. Attempting to appear horrified, he ran back to the King and accused the Queen of allowing her child to be carried off by a wild animal.

When the King saw the blood on her garments, he was enraged. In his anger he ordered a high tower to be built, into which no light would penetrate. When it was finished, he had the Queen imprisoned in it and the tower walled up, so that she could not eat or drink for seven years and would gradually pine away. Unbeknownst to all except the Queen, two angels from heaven, disguised as white doves, brought food to her twice a day. The Queen, however, had lost all hope that her son was alive and refused to eat. She died before the seven years were up.

Meanwhile, the cook thought, "If the child truly has the power of wishing, and I stay here, I might easily fall into disgrace", so he left the palace and went to the boy, who was then old enough to talk. He took him even farther away from the kingdom and said to him, "Wish for a beautiful castle, with a garden and everything belonging in it." As soon as the words passed the child's lips all he had asked for appeared.

The child grew into a teen, and though the castle was beautiful, and he had all the material items he could want, he was lonely. The cook, who, over time had made him wish for more and more until he was the king of his own country, had grown into a cruel tyrant. The servants were afraid to be near the young Prince, and he was not allowed to leave his father's castle, as the man had threatened him as a child into wishing for the thought to never come to his mind.

It was as the young Prince sat alone in his room one night that the pain became too much to bear and he wished for a companion. No sooner than he had spoken the words an elegant lioness appeared, more beautiful than any could imagine. The boy, awed by the deep connection he felt to it, ran his fingers through its soft fur and confided in it.

The boy hid the lioness with little effort by wishing it into the form of a yellow flower that he hid in his pocket. One day, his father burst into his room before he managed to hide it, and upon seeing the plain ornament stole it from him and crushed it under his heel before asking him who he had gotten it from. The boy collapsed into tears. The King, assuming it had been one of the servants, ordered the boy to wish away the entire staff and replace it, which the boy did. Then he had the young Prince wish for the neighboring kingdom to surrender its territories to him. When the King had left, the boy gathered up the crushed petals and wished as hard as he could that they would come back to life and become the lioness whom he had grown so close to. When he opened his eyes he saw the proud creature standing before him and went to wrap his arms around her tightly. She rested her head on his shoulder as he continued to sob into her fur.

At last she said to him, "You are just now beginning to find your potential, my cub, but we must make haste. Eventually, rumor that your father did not surrender will reach the king, and in that time the King will have you wish for more. The tyrant's greed is boundless."

The boy looked up at the lioness and asked, "My father?"

The lioness lowered her head to be level with his and replied, "Yes. I can see into your mind, and I have seen the the memories you cannot remember. It is true the King whose territory the tyrant is after is your father, but he never loved you like your mother did."

The boy sniffed and wiped the tears from his eyes before saying, "Then I will put him from my mind and search for my mother. I can now fool anyone, if I must, by not wishing for my wish to come true, even as I say it."

He felt the resolution settle in his chest. From that moment on, he would not let anyone abuse his power.

The lioness purred and said, "He may have made you wish for him to be immortal, even to the point you cannot kill him, but you can imprison him for eternity."

The boy nodded.

The lioness's eyes narrowed as she said, "Let him suffer for all that he has put you, and others, through. Let him wish for death."

The young Prince paled, but tried to accept the idea. He stood and rested his hand on the lioness's shoulder for strength before closing his eyes and wishing that the King would be imprisoned in fire, but he knew the wish did not come true. The lioness rubbed her face against his arm to comfort him. He changed his wish. The King would instead be turned into a black poodle with a lame leg for the rest of his life, and if anyone ever came across him they would not see or hear him, and he could not touch them. He then wished for a new King who would rule the kingdom with wisdom and grace. His thoughts turned to his family.

The lioness sensed his hesitation and said, "Come, we must find your mother."

The young Prince asked, "What if she no longer loves me? What if, once she discovers I am alive, she tries to use my power like the one who claimed to be my father did?"

The lioness said, "Then you must put her from your mind as well and wish for more companions like myself. You need never be lonely, my cub."

The boy was still worried, but he repeated the lioness's words in his mind as he made his way out of the castle. At the lioness's suggestion, he wished to know the castle and the way to his mother. When he was outside, he wished for the knowledge of riding an animal and climbed onto the lioness's back.

Upon arriving at his mother's prison he was struck by grief, but did not hesitate to wish for a way into the tower. An opening revealing a spiral staircase appeared before him, and with the lioness he climbed to the top of the tower. He was met by the pungent and sickeningly sweet smell of rotten flesh. The lioness growled, affected by the boy's emotions and the sight before her. She nudged him back down the flight of stairs. The boy breathed in the fresh air and sat on the ground, staring distantly across the field to the castle on the edge of the horizon. The lioness sat next to him, and he rested his head against her.

Finally, the boy said, "My father did this. No one else would have the power to imprison the Queen."

The lioness asked, "Shall we pay him a visit?"

The boy shook his head and buried his face in her fur. He mumbled, "I should never have been born."

The lioness growled, "My cub, I would not exist without you, and I do not regret your company."

The boy shook his head and said, "It was because of my power that the Queen was accused of allowing me to be carried off, and it is because of my wishes that the cook was able to wrong so many. We saw it ourselves on our way out of the kingdom. Such power as mine should not exist among humans."

The lioness stood and paced in front of him. After a time, she stopped and said, "I now regret telling you how you came to be under the cook's care. However, the solution to your problem is simple. Wish for the knowledge to wield your power responsibly."

The boy shook his head again and said, "I may gain the knowledge, but that does not mean I would not give into any temptations to use it wrongly. I do not trust myself."

The lioness, in a bout of frustration, said almost harshly, "Wish it away, then, if you cannot bear it."

The boy slowly nodded his head. He stood and brushed away the grass on his pants, and he wished his power to be gone. He felt empty then, as if a part of him had left. A growl, more feral than he had ever heard from the lioness, came from her throat. He recoiled in fear. It appeared as if the lioness had become no more than a wild animal, and a hungry one at that.


End file.
